Photo credit: Channel One / 1tv.ru
The Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra gave a performance in China in the open air the day before, on June, 2, TASS reports. The place at the conductor's stand was taken by maestro Valery Gergiev.
The concert venue was equipped near one of the most famous sights - the Great Wall of China. The stage was set against the backdrop of Badaling, a mountain range on which its section closest to Beijing is built. The audience could watch the work of the orchestra and the conductor close up on three large screens.
The concert began after sunset. The musicians performed works by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Stravinsky. The Russian composers were followed by the music of Johann Strauss and Lu Qiming. The president of the Shanghai Conservatory, Liao Changyong, performed Figaro's aria from Rossini's The Barber of Seville and the song Homesick Xi written by the poetess Xi Mujun.
The audience warmly welcomed the Russian musicians. Among the audience were diplomats from many countries, Russian Ambassador Igor Morgulov, and Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Zhang Ming.
In the spring, three concerts of the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra took place in China. It took 20 minutes for all 8,000 tickets to be sold out.
Valery Gergiev will take part in the opening of a new theater in the Chinese capital. According to him, he received an official invitation when he was on tour in Beijing. Gergiev said that the new theater in Beijing will be part of a large-scale cultural complex, which is located not far from the center of the capital. It will be complemented by a museum, a concert hall and even Disneyland.
Russkiy Mir
